2006 Frontiers in Research Award
Dr. Luciana Duranti, Professor of the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at UBC, is recognized as a worldwide leader in the field of archival studies.
Dr. Duranti’s work involves the complex and important problem of ensuring, assessing, maintaining and preserving the authenticity of digital materials over the long-term. Electronic documents such as e-mail, e-voting ballots, research data, electronic reports, and digital art have become ubiquitous in every aspect of society. However, while the technology to facilitate the creation and use of electronic records has proliferated, the technology to ensure the lasting authenticity of such records and preserving them over time has lagged far behind. Already generations of electronic material have been lost due to changing technology and the consequent inability to either access them or demonstrate their identity and integrity. Dr. Duranti has led the way in addressing critical issues such as what should be preserved, how to preserve it and how to ensure that what is preserved is authentic.
It was Dr. Duranti who introduced the science of diplomatics into the archival field in North America and her dedication to international collaboration has fueled its growth. She has grown her initially small UBC-funded project into a global research agenda in Canada, the US, Latin America and the Caribbeans, the UK, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Australia, Singapore and China. The founder and Project Director of the International Research on Permanent Authentic Records in Electronic Systems (InterPARES), Dr. Duranti leads a large multinational, collaborative and interdisciplinary research effort addressing the long-term preservation of authentic electronic records. In addition to Canadian funding primarily from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRCC), the InterPARES project is also financially supported with approximately $10 million in matching funds awarded by granting agencies and government institutions from 20 other countries, such as the National Science Foundation in the US, and by international bodies, such as UNESCO. Dr. Duranti has achieved signal results for the future of digital preservation by pioneering the notion of authentic digital copies; creating a framework to analyze document content that moves beyond simple technical considerations; and developing rules for records creators that have been incorporated by many organizations, including the US Department of Defense, and in national and international standards, policies, and legislations.
For her leadership in opening up new innovative approaches to the field of archival studies, BC Innovation Council awards Dr. Luciana Duranti the 2006 Frontiers in Research Award.
from: http://www.bcinnovationcouncil.com/awards/recipients/2006.php?id=3&press=1&draw_column=3:2:2
